Green Initiatives
Story appeared in the 2013 issue of QMS Connections Magazine.
BY LEANNE SCHULTZ, OPERATIONS & HR MANAGER
Mateo Woodward proudly shows off organic produce before harvesting it and donating it to the local food bank
Hands-on Learning in the QMS Primary Garden
The Primary Garden is an opportunity for QMS students to experience hands-on learning. This year, the Kindergarten Class, led by Mrs. Snow, built a worm farm to study composting in action. On rainy days, the Kindergarten students “rescued” worms from puddles and gave them sanctuary in a specially made see-through worm farm. The worms happily burrowed in layers of shredded newspaper, soil, and fruit. “They made holes in the soil and then they ate the fruit. But not all of the fruit…some of it got rotten. And that made compost,” explains Kate Schultz. Then the Kindergarten students planted seeds in the primary garden – sunflowers, carrots, beans, kale, lettuce, green onions, and pumpkins. The worms and the compost were also added into the garden. “The worms are going to help the garden,” notes Jake Armstrong. By June, plants were thriving. “We did lots of weeding!” exclaimed Owen Jaggers.
The Grades 1, 2, and 3 classrooms planted their sections of the garden with vegetables and flowers and did their share of watering and weeding. Throughout the summer, a team of dedicated parents and staff volunteered to water and weed the garden to ensure the students’ efforts were not wasted.
In September, the students will re-turn to school and to fully grown produce and harvest celebrations. The QMS Food Services Team also benefits with contributions of fresh herbs and leafy greens for all of the students to enjoy. Extra vegetables are donated to the Basket Society, Duncan’s local food bank. And of course, some of the fully grown pumpkins are used in the school’s annual pumpkin carving contest!
QMS Wins Local Award
Walking the runway in a dress made entirely of recycled materials, Charlotte Gibbs shows the power of “going green.”
On April 13, 2013, Head of School Wilma Jamieson accepted a prestigious award on behalf of QMS that recognized a dynamic year of environmental action for the school.
Being nominated for and winning the Green Business Award at the Cowichan Chamber of Commerce Black Tie Awards was a surprise for the entire school community. Making the school greener has been a long-standing focus for many students and staff, but in 2013, it became apparent that these efforts were not just the focus of a few individuals, but the entire school.
Here are just some of the green endeavors that the school has participated in or achieved to date:
The Early Childhood Education Program students participated in the Shoreline Cleanup at Transfer Beach.
Students in the Primary Program have been actively involved in the Primary Garden program, the school’s composting program, and have been conserving energy and water in their classrooms.
The Intermediate School has established a Junior Green Team that put “Towers of Power” in every class-room to encourage recycling throughout the school.
The Senior School Green Team has combined with the Food Services program to step up the school’s composting program in the dining halls and has challenged each classroom to become a zero-waste environment.
The school’s housekeeping staff only use eco-friendly products for laundry and cleaning.
Bus routes are carefully reviewed to maximize fuel efficiency each year.
The Equestrian Program donates its never-ending fertilizer supply to community gardens and local gardeners, such as the Kin Park Youth Urban Farm.
Marcus Charania and Mason Kolk at Beach Clean Up
Green Team Storms the School
Senior Biology Teacher Miss Nicole Lorusso has made it her mission to get students passionate about the environment. This past year, her Green Team promoted a zero-waste environment at Queen Margaret’s School, with all students and staff joining in the effort.
Miss Lorusso’s commitment to green initiatives started at an early age, growing up in a family that was into outdoor recreation. As the teacher sponsor of the QMS Senior School Green Team, she is passionate about making environmental aware-ness a lifestyle choice for all of the students and staff at the school.
Being on the Green Team not only engages students about being more environmentally aware—it also pro-vides opportunities for students to engage in other leadership skills. Grade 10 student Karlie Castle notes that organizing chapel speeches and other Green Team events helped her develop public speaking and presentation skills. Solveig Hanson, also in Grade 10, plans to incorporate all she has learned from her mentor, Miss Lorusso, to pursue a medical degree with a focus on environmental medicine.
Grade 12 student Qin Yi Fu is the first student from Asia to join the Green Team and she is determined to share her knowledge with her fam-ily and friends back home, where, admittedly, the environment is not such a focus as it is in Canada. She acknowledges that there is a cultural divide to be overcome, but she is determined to share what she has learned, and she is already succeeding—with her advocacy and Miss Lorusso’s recommendation, the Grade 12 Legacy Gift for 2013 will be a contribution to a greenhouse for the school.